Killing of a French Teacher Condemnable State Policy to Stand with Islamophobia Also Pinches Equally

We the Muslims cannot validate the killing of a person without a fair legal process, like a French teacher Samuel Paty was killed in Paris last week (16 October). Reportedly the suspect Abdullah Anzorov, who beheaded Paty on a street, was enraged for Paty’s Islam-phobic guilt. He forgot that Islam strongly prohibits hurting someone without the court’s authorisation. Equally deplorable is the police killing of the suspect, who was alone and had no deadly firearm. Within minutes of Paty killing, Anzorov was confronted by the police. He allegedly fired with air rifle and attacked with his knife to evade arrest. The police immediately pumped 9 shots in his body. We condemn both killings and convey condolences to their grieved families.
The teacher Paty became the target on social media over his choice of lesson material – the Islam-phobic cartoons, a Paris based magazine Charlie Hebdo (CH) had published in 2005 and had caused bloody retort. Lives of many were lost.
Disrespecting a noted personality creates fissures and hitches in the society. If the target is a national figure or a revered leading light of a religious community, the bitterness becomes severer. At times aroused sentiments overpower wisdom and result in sad, tragic acts. Offending sentimentalities of a community, as the French teacher did, may revert in equally censurable act, as the killing of the offending teacher. Trying to cover such offences under the notion of “norms of democratic society” and of “freedom of speech” is strangulating justice and de-civilizing the society.
Paty taught civics in a middle-school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a suburb of Paris. He showed his minor pupils, including Muslim girls, the caricatures depicting the Prophet of Islam ﷺ in bad light while lecturing on “Freedom of Speech.” That was noticed and objected on social media by some parents and community leaders but authorities failed to take notice.
These cartoons were first published in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten (JP) on 30 September 2005 with an edit “Muhammeds ansigt” (The face of Muhammad). The publication created ruckus around the world. The JP had done it deliberately after a long planning. After seven years, a French magazine Charlie Hebdo (CH) published the cartoons in 2012, forcing France to temporarily close embassies and schools in more than 20 countries amid fears of reprisals. The office of the magazine was targeted but it persisted on its ‘Islam-phobic’ publications. On 7 January 2015 again the CH office in Paris was attacked, injuring 11 and killing 12 staff.
The depth of state ‘Islam-phobia’ may be gauged from the mammoth rallies in Paris and elsewhere. The Paris rally was attended by over two million people led by 40 world leaders expressing sympathy with CH. Surely killing of the CH staff was highly condemnable but it may be bracketed as a misplaced retaliatory act of provoked individuals against unprovoked and planned guilt JL and CH committed without any provocation.
We regret to note that the official reaction was not balanced and caused a jump in hatred against the second largest (9%) population of the country (5,770,000 Muslims including 100,000 French converts). Not a single word was said against publishers of the blasphemous cartoons. The authorities stood to back CH disruptive stance and failed to restrain against publication of defamatory cartoons. As a result, the following issue ran a record of 7.95 million copies. A caricature showing a turban bearing a man captioned: “All is forgiven” was highlighted. Should business be preferred at the cost of precious values of fraternity, tranquillity and amity?
The same notion usurped the French leadership once again after the Paty incident. It was a time for the French leadership to put healing touch and deny space to insult and extremism of all types rather than creating further polarisation. We are afraid that ignoring the promotion of amity and harmony, and choosing to marginalise its 9% population will not help but inevitably lead to more “radicalisation” of both sides. Remember radicalisation of the majority is a bigger sin and will immensely harm the nation and disturb peaceful co-existence.
President Emmanuel Macron, who is facing a tough re-election in 2022, and is under pressure of the right and the anti-immigrant far-right groups to push Muslim migrants back, hit hard upon Islamic values and practices. The trend picked after the ban on scarf and hijab. The President described Paty a “quiet hero” who “embodied” the values of the French Republic. He also awarded Paty posthumously the highest civilian honour of France, ‘Légion d’Honneur’. He attended the memorial for the teacher and said, “He was killed precisely because he incarnated the Republic,” and that, “because the Islamists want our future.”
The President visited the school where Paty had worked and said that the incident ‎was “a typical Islamist terrorist attack. Our compatriot was killed for teaching ‎children freedom of speech.”
No, Respected President, hurting sentiments and insulting the revered figures of a religious community is not ‘freedom of speech, but work of satan’.
Mr. Macron visited the spot where Paty was killed and ‎declared, “You’ve seen, in the last few days, dozens of concrete actions launched against groups, ‎individuals, whose project is radical Islam.”
The police investigations are in the primary stage. But the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, announced the closure of the Grand Mosque of ‎Pantin in the suburb of Paris. Accordingly, the place of worship used by around 1,500 faithfuls from neighbouring poor areas has been shut for six months. It is blamed that a video was shared on the Mosque’s FB account, cursing the teacher for showing the cartoons. The imam, Abdelhakim Sefrioui is arrested. The sensitive ‎posts were removed after the Paty killing and published an ‎announcement condemning the teacher’s killing. France also ordered the deportation of 231 migrants, including 180 who are in prison.
It is unfortunate that the Muslim community has not learned the basic teaching of Islam of practising restraint, patience, and tolerance. We forget that the personality of our beloved Prophet ﷺ is such a perfect and towering one that nobody can tarnish his greatness. If anybody uses some insulting words, he is certainly ignorant. To hate and hurt him is not the cure. Teach him the message of the Prophet ﷺ with our own deeds and character. It is certainly unfortunate that the French leadership has chosen to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam, rather than control the hatemongers who incite violence. Mr. Macron has friendly relations with Muslim leaders. It is upon them to address the issue with wisdom and prudence. The Qur’an says, “Call on the path of your Lord with wisdom and good advice, and argue with them about what is better. Your Lord is the most knowledgeable of the one who strayed from his path.”
[The writer is Chairman, Forum for Civil Rights. email: [email protected]]